Youth Month – Afrika Tikkun South Africa

Celebrating Youth Month: Mandla Wins against All Odds

From an early age Mandla had to become a father to his siblings, all the while nursing a broken heart as he watched alcoholism destroy his mother.

Mandla (19) was registered as a Grade 12 learner at Afrika Tikkun Wings of Life Centre in Diepsloot. He said it was because he wanted to improve his marks because he had already repeated some of his grades. But failing his grades was not the only problem Mandla was facing. His mother’s income from renting 12 rooms and social grants was being spent on alcohol almost exclusively. He and his four siblings (one of whom was an epileptic baby) were starving, unclothed and some had even stopped going to school because fees were not being paid.

Mandla heard about the family support services offered at the Centre and approached the social worker for assistance. The social worker wrote a letter to SASSA requesting that Mandla be made the beneficiary of the social grants and the request was successful. Mandla now receives the social grants for his siblings, and is able to get them what they need. The social worker also negotiated that a portion of Mandla’s mother’ rental income is paid directly to Mandla and further enlisted the support of the community to hold the mother accountable to ensure that Mandla is allowed to use the income he now receives to support and provide for his siblings.

“I didn’t know about the help I could get from Afrika Tikkun. I really had lost hope for my life until I came to the centre,” said Mandla. His grades improved and at the end of his matric year, he passed well. The social worker supported Mandla to apply to a Technikon in Pretoria where he is currently studying Transport and Logistics.

They say when you are living just to survive, you stop dreaming, and when you stop dreaming, you stop planning for the future. The Career Development Programme has helped thousands of young people realise their potential by enabling them to have access to the economy.

Visit Wings of Life and see for yourself

Visit our Centre in Diepsloot for a tour. To arrange contact media@afrikatikkun.org

Courage. Energy and Vision May Sometimes Be Enough

They say, what the young lack in experience they make up for in courage and vision. That’s why we need more of their vision and energy in every sector of our society.

In June, we celebrate some of the young people who in one form or another have been touched, transformed or helped toward fulfilling their potential for greatness. These beautiful stories of growth and transformation actually speak a thousand words about the kinds of challenges young people face, and what it takes to complete the journey toward economic empowerment successfully.

All power in Youth Month to the young people of South Africa. They face a rapidly changing world, bursting with opportunity, but not without significant challenges and obstacles. You show courage and vision.

You inspire us to do what we do.

Ntsiki becomes his family’s hero

Helping a young person find work, changes not just their fate, but the fate of their entire family.

Ntsikelelo Mkoko (22) first joined Afrika Tikkun in 2008. One of the programmes offered at the time was aimed at cultivating heroism and courage in young people. Ntsikilelo had to identify a hero in his family and write about that person. Coming from a single parent home with three siblings, this activity encouraged Ntsikilelo to celebrate the positive side of his family, and not dwell on what they lacked.

After losing his father, Ntsiki, as he is commonly known, could not complete his Sports Management tertiary studies and dropped out in 2015. In 2017, he returned to Afrika Tikkun Mfuleni centre and registered for the Work Readiness course. “This programme made me see life in a very different and positive way. It taught me how to carry myself and treat people around me, as well as how to tackle various obstacles in my personal life and the world of work,” shared Ntsiki. His progress improved even more when he got the opportunity to be placed in a learnership.

He is now the breadwinner and only employed member of his family of 5. When asked what his future looks like, Ntsiki said: “Well I see myself successful and I have always had this dream of becoming a donor one day here at Afrika Tikkun because I am a living testimony of what this place can do for youngsters like myself. I’m very proud to call myself a Tikkun product”.

Would you like to ask Ntsiki a question? Or find out more?

Visit our Centre in Mfuleni for a tour and meet Ntsiki. To arrange contact media@afrikatikkun.org

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